2016 N.L. Wildcard Game: Mets vs. Giants

For the 2016 postseason I am making Cards That Never Were of Hall of Famers from each team but with a couple of twists. The first twist is that they will appear on cards that coincide with the year they were inducted into Cooperstown. The second twist is that these are not the teams they are best known for playing.

1995 Topps Richie Ashburn

After 12 Hall of Fame seasons with the Philadelphia Phillies, Richie Ashburn was traded to the Cubs where he spent the 1960 and 1961 seasons. In 1962 he was purchased by the newly formed Mets. There he was selected as the Mets sole representative to the 1962 All Star games. Although present for both games, he only saw action in the second. He was used as a pinch hitter. He singled and scored a run but the National League lost 9-4. He was inducted into the Hall of Fame by the Veterans Committee in 1995.

2015 Topps Randy Johnson

Randy Johnson played in 22 MLB seasons for six different teams. He ended his career in San Francisco in 2009 at the age of 46. Although he is best known for his time in Seattle and Arizona, he began with the Expos and also had short stints with the Astros and Yankees. He was a first-ballot selection to the Hall of Fame in 2015.

2015 Topps Mickey Mantle

I think it is safe to assume Topps will not be making a Mickey Mantle card this year. One of the oldest running themes of this blog  (in fact THE oldest) has been filling in the missing Topps Mantles.

 Just to get everybody up to speed, "The Mick" appeared on regular issue Topps cards from 1952-53, then 1956-69. After Mantle died in 1995, Topps retired the number 7 card in their sets (it actually took affect in the 1997 set). In 2006 Topps began making a Mantle card in the #7 spot. They also inserted  Mantle cards from the 1996-2005 sets into the 2006 set. Mantle continued to appear in Topps sets on card #7 until their deal with the Mantle estate expired in 2012. 

With various inserts and special editions Topps filled in many of the missing years. I have been filling in the rest. So it is with great pleasure that I present the "2015 Topps Card #7 That Never Was".